Trades At Risk

Research on the incidence of asbestos-related disease among construction, shipyard, refinery and production workers by Dr. Kaye Kilburn (who screened active and retired union workers throughout the country from 1986 to 1989), revealed the following results.

Rate of Asbestosis by Trades


Trade

Asbestosis
Prevalence

Sheetmetal workers

31.2%

Boilermakers

29.4%

Carpenters

27.9%

Operating Engineers

27.3%

Pipefitters

27.0%

Electricians

24.4%

Brickmasons

24.3%

Ironworkers

21.8%


Asbestosis in Manufacturing Jobs Versus Shipyard and Construction Trades


Jobsite

Asbestos
Prevalence

Shipyard worker

36.6%

Oil Refinery

43.8%

Construction Trades

27.4%

Aluminum Refining

23.0%

Papermaking

21.6%


Dr. Irving Selikoff studied the causes of death among 17,800 asbestos workers in the United States and Canada from 1967 to 1986. Dr. Selikoff found that asbestos workers died from mesothelioma, lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and asbestosis at a rate far above the national average for non-asbestos workers. He did not find any increased mortality due to cancer of the urinary bladder, prostate, testis, liver, brain or leukemia. Selikoff and Seidman, "Asbestos-Associated Deaths Among Insulation Workers in the United States and Canada, 1967-1987 ", 1991. Nicholson estimates there will be 125,000 cancer deaths due to asbestos related diseases from 1985 to 2009. Lilienfield projects 130,000 such deaths over the same time period.

Additional Information

Mortality of United Kingdom Oil Refinery and Petroleum Distribution Workers, 1951-1998: A High Incidence of Mesothelioma (2/23/07)

Study from the Institute of Occupational Health in the U.K. links high incidence of mesothelioma in oil refinery workers to asbestos exposure. Click here for a summary and a link to the 7 page report with data tables.

Cluster of Malignant Mesothelioma Cases in a Thermostat Manufacturing Industry (2/23/07)

An Italian study finds three mesothelioma patients all at the same thermostat manufacturing industry, causing an asbestos investigation. More...

Alcoa Workers at 'Higher Risk' of Mesothelioma (6/30/04)

ALCOA workers in Australia are more likely to die from mesothelioma than the rest of the population, a new study has revealed. More...

Asbestos Defense Bogus De Jour: Chrysotile Fibers Don't Cause Mesothelioma (and fire doesn't burn!) (5/11/01)

Scientists Respond
1) Richard A. Lemen, Ph.D (There is "no doubt that the scientific evidence supports the carcinogencity of chrysotile alone in the induction of mesothelioma.") For a complete review of Dr. Lemen's research in support of his conclusion, click here.

2) Dr. Douglas A. Pohl ("In summary, it is clear from the published medical literature that chrysotile asbestos causes mesothelioma"). For a complete review of Dr. Pohl's research in support of his conclusion, click here.

Circulating Natural Killer Cells in Retired Asbestos Cement Workers. (2/22/00)

The effect of past exposure to asbestos on natural killer (NK) cell number and activity is uncertain. More...

The European Mesothelioma Epidemic (Feb. 1999)

Projections for the period 1995-2029 suggest that the number of men dying from mesothelioma in Western Europe each year will almost double over the next 20 years, from 5000 in 1998 to about 9000 around 2018, and then decline, with a total of about a quarter of a million deaths over the next 35 years. More...

Peritoneal Cancer and Occupational Exposure to Asbestos: Results From the Application of a Job-Exposure Matrix (Jan. 1999)

This study provides evidence that death certificate data and job-exposure matrices are useful tools to observe well-established associations, such as the one existing between peritoneal cancer and asbestos exposure among men, in spite of crude information, disease misclassification, and occupational misclassification. More...

Is Asbestos Deadly? You Decide.. (2/1999)

  • On the World Scene

  • Russia & Poland

  • South Africa

  • Asbestos Removal - Fact or Fiction

Asbestos 'will kill 500,000' by 2020, November 1998

More than half-a-million people could die of asbestosis over the next 20 years, according to a senior doctor.

Dr Robin Howie, of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, told a conference in Clydebank, near Glasgow, that hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos currently in buildings needed to be removed. More...

Future Increase of Mesothelioma in Dutch Men: A. Burdorf, May 31, 1997

In the next 35 years about 20,000 cases of pleural mesothelioma among men are expected. The projection results in a peak of annual male mesothelioma deaths of approximately 700 in about the year 2018. More...

732 MM Deaths in Manville, Somerset County, New Jersey (6/15/98)

This study evaluates the environmental, nonoccupational component of mesothelioma incidence among persons living in Manville, Somerset County, New Jersey, the location of the largest asbestos manufacturing plant in North America. More...

272 MM Deaths in South East England Studied (6/15/98)

In south east England most cases of malignant mesothelioma are associated with asbestos exposure. Clinical features do not differentiate between asbestos related and non-asbestos related disease. More...

3000 Asbestos-Related Deaths in UK Yearly and Rising (4/30/01)